


that bright, tight forever drum (nightswimming)

by popmart (summerhurleys)



Category: Nirvana (Band), R.E.M. (Band)
Genre: (at least sorta), M/M, Making Out, Michael Stipe's ambigious sexuality, Michael Stipe's chest gets mentioned so much it may as well be a character, Sexuality Crisis, how do tags work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 12:39:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17345393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerhurleys/pseuds/popmart
Summary: A late night dip in the pool gets a little steamy for Dave when he has to confront an attraction he didn't necessarily know he had until it shows up in one of the pool chairs.





	that bright, tight forever drum (nightswimming)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinta_roja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinta_roja/gifts).



> The first in a series of encounters between Dave and Michael, purely conceived because I had the wicked thought of the two of them being together in SOME WAY, and my gf supporting that wholeheartedly! 
> 
> I'll probably come back in the future and tweak some things, since I know I don't have their personalities on point...so yeah. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the fic nonetheless!
> 
> Title is from 'Nightswimming' by R.E.M.

**September 8th, 1992**

Dave didn't anticipate the hotel being so empty, considering the circumstances, the VMAs were literally _the next night_ , and he was well aware that there were some famous people who were also staying at the same hotel.

To be quite fair, the hotel itself was pretty shabby accommodation compared to other places he'd resided at in the last year, in the big rush of it all. Being in a place that gave him vague memories of family trips grounded him a bit, thankfully. Everything didn't feel so rushed and complicated. That was something he didn't really tell anyone, he left that sentiment mostly for Kurt to express, anyways.

He shook the thoughts from his mind as he quietly slipped out from his hotel room and started to make his way down the hall. The only sounds he could hear were the machinery clicks and clunks of the elevator nearby, and if he passed certain rooms he could hear muffled conversations. Otherwise it was eerily quiet, at least until he finally reached the back door.

Dave cracks the door open and lets out a thankful breath, _the pool area was empty_ , which was what he wanted in the first place.

Technically, the pool wasn't supposed to be open for guests anymore, since Labor Day had passed, but the people at reception had told him (and Krist) when they checked in that they had left it clean for their 'esteemed' guests. He snorted at the thought and found a chair at the poolside, beginning to quickly take off his shirt and pants.

Dave grabbed his discarded clothes and put them in the chair, then turned to make his way into the water, only to pause when he noticed another person in a chair across the pool from him. Said person lifted a hand in lazy wave, and that's when Dave realized it was Michael-freaking-Stipe.

"Hey man...didn't think there would be anyone out here." Dave says after a moment, deciding to sit down at the water's edge until he figured out why the lead singer was out here at all.

Michael laughs, and Dave can see in the dim outside lights that his smile isn't a full one. "Needed some quiet, the phone in my room's broken and ringing off the hook."

Dave hums in response, tries not to look too hard at Michael and his exposed chest. _Ever since he'd joined Nirvana and gotten to know Kurt and Krist, his urges...had been harder to resist._

There had been a time when Dave had first joined the band, and before Krist really settled with his wife and Kurt found Courtney, where Dave had caught the two of them fooling around with each other. He never questioned them about it since he only saw it occur a few times, but after seeing their nearly naked bodies together in such ways, he didn't look at other guys with the same unaware eye that he'd had before.

Dave didn't even know Michael awful well either, mostly hearing about him from Kurt and from the press, and he'd only been face to face with him a handful of times. _So why was he feeling this way?_ His stomach curled in knots as he tried to find something to say, choosing to look at his feet treading the water as he thought to himself.

Before he could open his mouth though, Michael's voice cut through the air. "Heard you went to Kurt's wedding."

Dave half jumps from being startled, jaw then setting into a frown as he responds with a, "I did it because I'm still his friend, before you ask. Not for Court."

He almost doesn't look up after saying that, he knows how chummy Michael and Courtney are, but decides to anyways, just to see if he got a reaction out of the older man.

Michael's now sitting at the edge of the pool chair, chin in his hands and arms propped on his sweatpant covered knees, and his tight smile from before seems looser now, almost as if he expected Dave to say that all along. "I know, was just teasing you." He drawls out easily, then looking pointedly at Dave as his eyebrow raises up, an unsaid question coming to play. _Maybe if he knew Michael better, he'd understand what it was._

"Oh, sure." Dave makes himself chuckle, cause he is used to that, usually from Kurt or Krist, not from someone he doesn't know well. "So you're just gonna sit here all night?"

"Maybe. Looked like you were going to take a dip...you too shy now?"

Dave swears Michael's face contorts into an expression he had only seen on cartoon cats before, sly and mischievous. In any other circumstances he'd be alarmed by this, but in the moment it makes him feel hot on the inside, and the knots in his stomach turns to streaks of vague arousal under the man's gaze.

"That was the plan, yeah," Dave finally spits out, then propelling himself into the water in a quick movement, whole body engulfed for moments in the stinging chlorine before he pokes his head out, looking back again at Michael, "But you should really join me, dude!"

Michael laughs, and Dave smiles back, feeling warm inside at the sound, and even more so at how genuine it is. It shakes the singer's body in small waves that Dave wishes in the moment could wash over him, and his eyes squint shut as he tilts his head back a little. Dave's not even sure what's so funny about what he'd said, but he also really doesn't care.

As Michael's laugh fades away, so does Dave's spurt of confidence, being replaced with a sense of awkwardness that he supposes he put on himself, having jumped into this pool and asked one of the most popular people in the music world to _join him_ , as if it were casual. The feeling manifests as a hot blush both to his face and nearer to his groin as Michael starts to get up, tugging at his sweats with his thumbs.

Dave's breath catches in his throat as he gets a better look at the older man's body, a strange but delicious mix of toned and _soft_ , covered with enough hair that suddenly he wishes he could run his hands through it, just to know what it would feel like. He's glad Michael didn't fully strip, choosing to leave his underwear on as well as he slips himself into the water, then paddling his way over to where Dave is.

"I-I didn't think you'd actually _join me_ ," Dave sputters out, trying not to show just how awkward he feels as his expression sets to a half smile, blush still not leaving him. "Didn't really plan beyond you getting in here..."

Michael doesn't respond for a moment besides a acknowledging nod, and he seems to be taking his time adjusting to the water around him now. Dave's not sure what to do about any of this now, because he put himself in this situation, and he's not even sure what he wanted from it at all.

Suddenly, Dave's caught off guard by a wave of chlorine water hitting his face, to which he gasps as he turns, only to be bombarded again, though this time just mere sprinkles. "Oh my god!" He laughs, realizing what's happening fairly quick. "What the fuck, man!"

His eyes stop stinging long enough to see Michael absolutely _grinning_ like the cat that got the cream, and he decides right then that if he means war, it's what he'll get.

It doesn't take long for the two of them to devolve into an all out splash fight, howling and laughing as they get at each other with the water. Dave's not sure how long they're at it, just that if he wasn't soaked before, he definitely was now. Since neither of them could really see, with their eyes being stung by the chemicals, Dave also doesn't realize how close they are until his hand makes contact with what he hopefully assumes is Michael's chest.

That contact feels like electric shock to Dave, who tries to draw his hand back in embarrassment, only to have Michael grab him by the wrist, effectively keeping him there. He breathes deep and tries to blink the chlorine out of his eyes so he can see, because everything suddenly feels five hundred percent more intense and _real_ than it had just a minute before, and he needs to see what Michael looks like so he can figure out how to proceed.

"Hey, don't freak out on me now, Grohl." Michael murmurs, voice seeming as calm as the loose grip he's still got on Dave's wrist, and Dave doesn't miss the moan he's barely keeping in when his fingers starfish into his chest hair. _Wow, okay, the more you know._

Dave can't help but let out a nervous chuckle at Michael's remark, as this was uncharted territory for him. After the absolutely crazy year he's had, he thought that maybe he knew how to deal with this, but Michael is showing him nearly wordlessly that maybe he's still in over his own head. This seems especially so when he feels his other hand being raised up from the water, Michael gently placing a kiss on the palm.

"You make me feel fucking ancient, you should know." Michael breathes into Dave's hand, and with the way Dave's brain is short-circuiting, it takes him some time to catch on to what the singer means.

"You're not _that_ old." Dave says, though he can't actually remember how old Michael is and hopes he isn't assuming things.

"You're 23, if I've read right?"

Dave nods in answer, and Michael looks at him with a look that makes him think that he's experienced more than he's ever let on.

"Well, for full disclosure, I'm thirty two."

 _Ah, that would explain a lot._ Dave bites his lip and wonders what direction Michael is trying to take them, since he'd kissed his hand, and his other hand is still on the singer's chest. He almost didn't want to move it from there, either. "If it makes you feel better, you look hotter than a lot of dudes your age." he finally sticks with, and _it's true._

Even with his mild unrequited attractions to Krist and Kurt, who were definitely older, most of his guy related feelings had only gone to dudes his own age, really. Michael was beginning to turn into an exception.

"You flatter me, Dave," Michael grins, but it then falters as he puts on a more serious expression. "I know you've been looking at me in a certain way, don't deny it. But I need to know if this is what you really want."

Michael kisses Dave's still outstretched palm again, as if to clarify what he means, and this time, _Dave gets it_.

"Y-yeah, I'm pretty sure I want...that. From you. But nothing else, I'm not really...ready for that yet." Dave answers, ignoring the surely obvious erection he's got going on in that moment. He's not ready to face that aspect, he's not sure if he ever will.

He's pretty sure his face is beet red, but he doesn't have much time to reflect on that before Michael's suddenly leaning forward, the hand holding his wrist letting go to place itself in his hair as their lips meet.

At first Dave doesn't quite know what to do even though he's kissed girls before this, and everything about it feels immensely different. His hand leaves Michael's chest and goes to the back of his neck, holding him in place as things get more intense.

Michael puts the hand that's not in Dave's hair back in the water, then grabbing at the drummer's hip, pulling him closer. They're breathing deep now, and even though Dave expects things to turn to french kissing territory, Michael never makes that approach. _How considerate._

Even though the end of summer night is still warm, the water feels almost cold to Dave and he presses himself closer to Michael, erection be damned. Michael doesn't seem to mind, only parting to take a breath and a moan before diving back into the kiss.

Dave revels in the feeling of Michael's lips against his own, the warmth of their bodies basically melded together, and how giddy he feels in the first place. _This is really happening._

They continue like that for the longest time, Dave's not sure how long it's been, but he wishes that it'd go on forever, because it all feels so good. He's pretty sure Michael feels the same, if his relaxed body language is anything to go by.

Dave pulls back from Michael's lips long enough to let out a peal of laughter, softening as he puts his head on the singer's shoulder, tilting just enough so that he could still see part of his face. "Didn't actually know you were into guys." He remarks, a hint of surprise still in his tone even with the things that had _just happened._

"I'm into whoever feels right, and right now, I guess that's you." Michael responds, and Dave feels the hand still on his hip clutch a bit harder as the words stumble from him.

Dave doesn't quite know what to make of that, he's aware that Michael doesn't give much away, and what he said then sounded like the tearing of a bandaid, as if he hadn't said that aloud before. He can't deny that the sense of uncertainty is a bit thrilling, because he's sure Michael means that this is just a one night thing, even if they didn't actually have sex and it was just making out...but that's okay with him.

The water surrounding them barely moves as they stand in it, _so still_ , holding on to each other as if the only things keeping this reality together was their touch and the low light of the night.


End file.
